Meaning of name in English

be a name to conjure with
in all but name
in God's/heaven's name
in name only
in the name of something
in the name of someone/something
make a name for yourself
your name is mud
the name of the game
take someone's name in vain

More idioms

to your name

under the name of

name

verb [ T ]

/neɪm/ us

/neɪm/

name verb [T] (GIVE/SAY NAME)

to give someone or something a name:

[ + two objects ] We named our dogs Shandy and Belle.

A man named Dennis answered the door.

to say what something or someone's name is:

In the first question you had to name three types of monkey.

He couldn't name his attacker.

More examplesFewer examples

We've just got a new cat, but we haven't named him yet.
Paul was named after his grandad.
The Queen attended a ceremony to name the ship.
Some parents chose to name their children after characters from the show.
They named their son Isaac after the biblical character.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Names and titles

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name verb [T] (CHOOSE)

to choose someone or something:

Just name the time and I'll be there.

Name your conditions/terms/price.

Ms Martinez has been named (as) the new Democratic candidate.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Taking and choosing

See more results »

Idioms

name and shame
name names
name the day
you name it

Phrasal verb

name someone/something after someone/something

(Definition of name from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

name | American Dictionary

name

noun [ C ]

/neɪm/

Add to word list Add to word list

a word or words that a person or thing is known by:

Hello, my name is Beth.

Do you remember the name of that town we visited in Maine?

I’m looking for someone by the name of (= who has the name) Stephen Weinberg.

A name is also a reputation, esp. a good one:

She had made a name for herself as an architect by the time she was thirty.

A name is also a famous person or thing:

He’s a big name in the field of fashion.

They wanted a name band for the wedding.

Idioms

in name only
in the name of something
name names
the name of the game

name

verb [ T ]

/neɪm/

to give a name to someone or something:

They decided to name their first child Benjamin.

To name is also to choose or to state publicly:

The president has yet to name a new ambassador to Russia.

(Definition of name from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

name | Business English

name

noun [ C ]

/neɪm/ us

Add to word list Add to word list

a well-known and successful company, person, or product:

a big/famous name Some big names in the technology sector were hardest hit.

the reputation of a company, person, or product:

good/bad name It is hard to put a value on a firm's good name.

make your name

to become famous by achieving something:

He had already made his name on Wall Street in the early 90s with his high-risk investment strategies.

[ C ] INSURANCE

(also Lloyd's name)

an investor who makes large sums of their own money available to the insurance group Lloyds so that it can provide insurance for organizations or industries that have large risks

Examples of name

name

Sometimes, and with some letters (especially at the youngest age level), phonetic letter names are produced.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Note that the above rule may be applied provided the scope of substituted names is localised to the term to be reduced.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Do bilinguals activate phonological representations in one or both of their languages when naming words?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Their new name replaces a contentious vowel with an arrowhead.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The name has survived the demise of the political power with which it was originally identified by almost three centuries.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Even in this, the only surviving portion, no less than 50 falconers with whom he worked are named.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Name training either taught some children that novel names should be mapped onto novel kinds or enhanced their commitment to this belief.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Within this, the cultural changes have a tempo based around these recognisable events, with named key individuals and short periods of analysis.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Because they cannot claim real property on their findings, they may attach their names to them as a gesture of symbolic ownership for their work.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

But then one would be deploying an alternative conclusion of justice; one would not challenge it in the name of one of the rival claims.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Ultimately, the destructor proved inefficient and, as its name implies, it left a strong legacy of disposal.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In the restricted syntax, top-level classes do not contain nested classes; all types are top-level class names; and methods are monomorphic.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Several characteristics of confrontation naming performance by typically developing subjects have been reported in the literature.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

With this in mind, it seems a shame that we have to use different names for each of these variants.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Two contexts are considered equal if they only differ up to a dependency-preserving reordering of their variables or names.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of name

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.